Artful Assemblage with Tim Holtz: Class Review

On Friday, I had the great good fortune to take a class with Tim Holtz called artful assemblage. The class focused on learning how to use a variety of Tim Holtz products to make a three dimensional collage. We played a lot with distress crayons and distress collage mediums and used ideology ephemera, letter press and found relatives. I absolutely adore the collage I created. It features my one little word for 2016 and focuses on the idea of growing from a willful child to a brave woman. I meant to feature my current age (55) but that didn't really pan out. I did however include the year of my birth (1961) and the year I graduated from high school (1978). 

I love Tim Holtz and use his products a lot (you can see many of my Tim Holtz creations, as well as class and book reviews by clicking and scrolling through this link). I first met Tim almost 15 years ago, when he was first starting out, at a Club Scrap retreat. He spent the entire weekend with the group and showed himself to be a funny, talented, genuine, generous person. And he's still the same, as well as a very gifted teacher. Tim is a self-taught, hands-on artist who began his career as a demonstrator at some chain craft store, so he's not long on design principles. He's also a brilliant business person and inventor who works with a variety of different manufacturers to try to get the highest quality product at a reasonable price. So he makes stamps with stampers anonymous, cutting tools with tonic, ink products with ranger, etc., rather than doing everything with one company.
The class reflected all this. The class was short on collage design theory but long on fun and other learning. This worked for me because I've taken (and taught) collage classes. I learned all about distress crayons (which I had sampled before but not really understood until this class). I also learned an amazing new tip - place your paint and glue/medium brushes in a baby wipe while you're using them to keep them fresh without becoming water logged. For our $85, we got three hours of amazing, personalized instruction, all the supplies for the project, a bonus apron and a bonus stand for our canvases! A huge value in my opinion.

One of the joys of Tim's classes is that he brings everything! I walked in with absolutely no supplies and was able to complete a project that I loved. Another joy is running into friends. Cindy McCool (pictured above) lives near me and we used to get together at least once a month to make art together. We'd lost track of each other recently, so it was quite a treat to walk into the classroom and spy her there! Although we were not sitting anywhere near each other and there was a huge variety of supplies to choose from, there ended up being a lot of similarities between our two projects. I guess that's what comes from being art sisters who have spent so much time together.
All-in-all, a terrific class and a terrific day!

Glue it Tues/Thurs/day: One Day . . .

Just a quick art journal page for Glue it Tuesday, featuring pink and orange paint, items found on my desk and a sketch made during a meeting. The journaling reads . . . "One day I will move to Paris and in Paris, I will sketch (instead of doing laundry)."  About sums up my thoughts on the day!
You can see others playing around in the Glue it Tuesday Lounge at this link.
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p.s. Tomorrow is the first day of summer, the "traditional" start date for the Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt, so it's definitely not too late to join in! For details check out this post. You have three months to find 21 items. The more the merrier!

Glue it Tuesday with Happy Mail

Just a little art journal collage for Glue It Tuesday!  The quote reads "Photography is the art of observation . . . it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them."  I started the collage with bits from Happy Mail which I have received lately and added a few things from my stash.  Speaking of happy mail, a big thank you to Lizzie of Lizzie Made.  I received the pastel notebook seen in this post as a give-away prize.
I love collecting quotes to use in my art journal and in my collages.  My friend Deb of Paper Turtle runs a blog feature called "Just a Quote for Friday." She's running an interesting challenge in conjunction with that feature - providing a photo and asking readers to alter it and then link up at the end of the month.  If you want to play along, check it out here.
To check out other people playing in the Glue it Tuesday lounge, head on over to Artsyville.

Feeling Up, Up, Up in the Glue it Tuesday Lounge

I love the Glue it Tuesday Lounge, hosted by Aimee of Artsyville, because it allows me to play with my large assortment of papers and collage elements in a stress free environment. This week, I made a pair of mini-collages inspired by the "Feeling Up, Up, Up" challenge at Jennifer's Onwards and Upwards Blog Event this past weekend.  They are both about letting go, being creative, being happy and living your life! Similar bases of paper scraps for both, layerd with an Elle Studio journaling block, collage images from my stash and some stamping.  These were such fun to make and make me really happy!
A shout-out to blog friends who have sent me some happy mail lately (click on the image to see an enlargement):

Suanne Brauer sent a prize package which included the journaling blocks, along with a little journal and other goodies; Melissa of Daily Life - Bits & Pieces sent me an RAK; and Jessica Sporn sent a wonderful water color blog prize with a fantastic quote from Henry Miller.  Thank you ladies for the happy mail!
If you like the look of these little collages, come back on Thursday when I'll have some cards also inspired by pairing the journaling blocks with my collage images. In the meantime, why not check out the Glue it Tuesday Lounge by clicking on this link.

Be Strong, Be Brave: Tags for Glue it Tuesday

This week, for Glue it Tuesday (a fun gathering hosted by Artsyville), I decided to create some tags. As I walked to and from work last week, I made a concerted effort to pick up interesting bits and pieces to use for a collage. Most got discarded, but many ended up here (the canvas tag, bottle cap, splitarillos box, bee label, gum wrapper and bus transfer). I used Adirondack spray inks to create the backgrounds and then started gluing!
The tag on the left is called "Be Strong," and it looks back to all the strong women who have come before me. The tag on the right is called "Be Brave," and it looks forward. The journaling reads "She ran ahead where there were no paths. . ."
I am at my best when I am both strong and brave. What about you?
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To visit other visitors to the Glue it Tuesday lounge, check out this link.

Wordless Wednesday: Collage

Instead of a photograph this week, I'm posting a collage I made inspired by the Ode to Nature class.  Focal image is a photograph I took of an apple blossom bud in my backyard. Started with a spray ink background, added text, map and music paper and then focal image. Outlined with gesso, then added a variety of other images from my stash, skeleton leaf and magic mesh. Finished up with green paint around edges. Although I do a lot of collage, this was in a different style for me.

Out of the Journal Canvas Challenge: Week #2

Dina Wakley is running a challenge this month to get art journalers to work on canvas or other surfaces (anything outside your art journal). The goal is to workon two canvases each week.  I started two canvases last week and thought I had left an autopost with them, but it didn't work out. So, a little late, here are my two canvases. The one up top is actually two canvases - a 12x12 painted black, with red and yellow circles (plus drips), and a small yellow canvas that I will attach to the front. I definitely got that idea after taking Tim Holtz' Creative Block class. I plan to add a few more yellow splatters and some teal stars to the background.

And this is my second "canvas." It's actually plaster. I added lots of texture and acrylic paint, plus some grunge board and a photograph I took of a butterfly. I was going to call it done, but then I saw this fabulous creation at the Altered Bits blog, and have now decided I want to add A LOT more stuff.
So, sorry these are late. Hopefully they'll still go into the challenge drawing. I've got my next canvas started and an idea for another this week.

Venice Collage #3

I started this collage a long time ago in a crackle paste class.  Last week, I pulled it out of my unfinished projects bag, took it to my studio and painted it.  I added a few embellishments, and I now declare it done!  It's the third in a series of texture collages that feature photographs I took in Venice.  You can see the other two in this post.  I might do one more in the Series, but we'll see.  I definitely want to do one more in my Paris series, so I'll probably turn to that one first. 
I'm also submitting it to the Gingersnap Creations Challenge Blog for the Once in a Blue Moon Challenge, which is accepting entries based on any of their previous challenges!  If you're looking for a wonderful list of challenges, check out this link.  I'm submitting for the GC67 "Go 3D" challenge.
 It felt good to finish up another project! Have you completed anything recently?

Finally finished!

My blog friend Karen has chosen "finish" as her word for 2011, and that something I can relate to.  Last Sunday I took a class with Connie and stayed afterwards to finish up some pieces, including this collage I made with street art from Paris. You may recall it from when I asked for your input in this post.  Sorry for the rotten picture, but my computer is feeling a bit ill and I'm limping along using DS Henry's computer. Hopefully mine will get fixed soon.
It felt really good to finish this piece.  Is there something you've finished lately?

Strong hearted and head strong

I took a great class today.  It was an intermediate collage class taught by Connie Andrews, in which the idea was to build a collage involving personal icons.  I chose a trio of family heritage pictures that are all about women who are strong hearted and head strong - just like me. I used a key, a sacred heart milagro, some religious medals, a dragon fly charm and and some coins - all of which speak to me on a deep level.  I really, really love this piece!  Connie and I got into a bit of a debate after class as to what the focal point of this collage is.  What do you think it is?  Where does your eye immediately go?

What does this need?

I've been working on this canvas off and on for a long time.  So long that, in fact, when I started it I had a definite plan in mind, but I can't remember what it was! So, I've pressed forward and am pretty happy with it. The images are photographs I took of street art in Paris. Fiber paste circles and triangles; cloth buttons, black braid, pen nib and ornate charms; painted red circles and yellow square added for dimension.  But it doesn't feel done to me.  I feel like I need something to pull it all together.  I'm thinking something in white maybe?  And I'm not really loving that shade of blue; it's very dark and there's so much of it.
Ideas gratefully appreciated!

The Picnic Dress (collage on plaster)

She wore this dress to the picnic, and memories of the day lingered in its folds. 
Day 2 of Creativity Boot Camp, and the creative prompt is "picnic."  WTF???  I take a deep breath and think about some of the things I have been wanting to do with plaster (my chosen media), and one of them has been to create certain shapes and collage on them. One of the shapes I have contemplated is a simple dress or shirt.  I figure I can make a nice, spring dress that someone might wear to a picnic and then collage on a variety of flowers and heritage images of women.
As I look through my collage images, I find one of my favorite images. . . I don't know who the couple is exactly (beyond friends or relatives of my Aunt Vera) or what the circumstances are, but this photo always reminds me of budding romance.  I imagine that the couple met each other while attending a picnic.
As I start to sketch the picnic dress on to the plaster panel, I am having trouble imagining it as a freestanding form, but I really begin to like the idea of it as a dress hanging on a clothesline.  I have always been fascinated  by clothes hanging on a clothesline, and you can see a favorite photo here and the art journal page it inspired here.  As I continue to paint and collage and create, an idea is born for a series of collages on plaster.  The series is titled "On the Clothesline," and today's collage is the first in the series, "She wore this dress to the picnic."  On the back, I have written, "She wore this dress to the picnic, and memories of the day lingered in its folds."  ETA: I came up with the words to tell the story; they aren't a quote from someone else.
I hope you enjoy my creation (and its story).

Art for Sale & Show

A week from today, my local mixed media group will be opening its second annual art show.  I showed five pieces last year and sold two.  This year, I'm hoping to do about the same.  As an extra treat, DD Clara will also be showing this year, too!  If you're in the area, please feel free to stop by and browse the show.
Here are the two big pieces I plan to show:

And here's DD Clara's piece:

One of the reasons I started my blog was to catalog my art, but I soon realized that it was hard to get a good picture of my artwork.  I'm pretty happy with these shots, which I took in program mode as part of the week 2 assignment in Get Out of Auto mode.  I set the ISO to 400 and let the camera do the rest. 

House Party - Final Tally

House of Love (Canvas)
Final roll call of House Party participants.  If you emailed me and you're not on the list, email me again at rinda1961@yahoo.com.  The art today is something I have posted before, but it remains one of my favorite pieces of all time, and it fits the theme.
UK Participants:
Sian
Liz L (Gables)
Denise
Ruth
Cherry
Deb
Jacky
Mel
Sarah
Liz G (Dewlands)
Elizabeth


US Participants:
Cheryl
Karen
Sharyn
Kimberlee
Nancy
Cindy
Margi
Deb
Julie


And from Australia:
Amy


All the packages are in the mail (except Amy's - hers will go out on Monday).  If you don't receive yours within a week, email me at rinda1961@yahoo.com, and I'll send another.  Yes, I have plenty of supplies. I  made up 20 envelopes, and it made nary a dent in my stash!  I'll post a house tutorial later this week.
As we say here in the states, "Party on!"

Easter, Take Two

And for you mixed-media fans, here's an edgier take on Easter art.  It's a tiny canvas (3x3 inches) and features a grafitti image that I found on a wall in Paris and photographed.  Is it too edgy for you?

Don't forget, last call for the blogs and blogging survey.  I'll choose a random incentive winner tonight at 9:00 p.m. California time and begin compiling results.  You can find the survey here.

March Class Review

Who am I? (collage)

I took two classes this month: Shimelle's Something From (almost) Nothing and Connie Andrew's Collage Challenge Class.  I'll start with Shimelle's class, although my comments may not make me too popular.  And I welcome alternate opinions.

Shimelle's class was designed to get you to use up scrapbook supplies from your stash and to create pages.  I enjoyed it, and I definitely got my money's worth.  I think the basic structure was good, and there were some wonderful ideas for ways to use up supplies like ribbon, metal and alphabet stickers. Also, it helped me realize that there are some things I will never use.  I'm going to be getting those out of my stash and into the donation pile!  On the other hand, there were a few disappointments in the class.  For instance, I would have preferred for there to be a more definite theme and journaling prompts for for the optional album. I am happy with the album I made (especially because it was just sitting in my stash), but Shimelle is such a journaling guru that I would have loved to have gotten a bit more in that regard.  Second, I thought that a couple of the prompts were not that innovative.  For instance, the flower and chipboard prompts didn't seem to offer many new ideas. The page protector prompt was also a little odd to me  because I don't generally want to "use up" my page protectors.  Luckily, I did find some off-size page protectors that I wanted to use up and have found them very useful for holding newspaper clippings and other memorabilia. Finally, the class did not go as scheduled.  Shimelle added a few "inspiration" posts, featuring classmates' blogs, and challenges.  These were additional, not in lieu of the regular prompts, but they did change the timing of things a bit.  I really loved and enjoyed the challenges.  To me, they were a definite, unexpected value-added.  On the other hand, I found the inspirational posts less interesting. While I like a class to run on the advertised schedule, I'm willing to put up with a little slide in the schedule (especially in exchange for an added value like the challenges).  However, I find the slide in the schedule for this class to have become long enough to be annoying.  The final post is now scheduled to come on Monday (almost a week late in a class that was originally scheduled to only go three weeks).  On the whole, I give the class a thumbs up because it was unbelievably inexpensive to begin with; however, I don't think it was up to Shimelle's usual high standards.

Connie's class was a terrific experience.  Like everyone else, I arrived at class with only brushes and a pair of scissors. The goal was to make a collage by the end of the three hour class, using materials and a theme provided by Connie.  She gave each of us an 8x10 canvas and told us that the theme of the collage was "Alice in Wonderland."  She then passed around images and phrases for us to use as a starting point.  After that, we were free to create whatever we wanted, using the huge array of paints, acrylic mediums, and collage supplies she brought with her.  Everyone jumped right in and created terrific pieces.  You can see them all at her blog here.  I loved the opportunity to create without having to haul out all my stuff, and I was thrilled with the collage I created.  My collage is up top, and it features photographs that Lewis Carroll took of the girl for whom he created the Alice in Wonderland stories.  The journaling, taken from the book, reads "Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle!  I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, Sir, because I'm not myself you see."  The background is textured gel medium, painted with acrylic paints.  It was really interesting to create a completed collage in three hours.  It taught me a lot about what I can do, and I'm thankful for the experience.  I'll definitely take her next collage challenge class!

Let's Talk Blogs & Blogging (with an incentive)

I've been thinking about my blog and blogging lately, and I've got some questions for you (as a blogger and/or blog reader).  I'd love your answers to these.  I'll gather them together and post a summary early next week, along with my thoughts on these questions:
1. Frequency:  how often do you blog?  How often do you read other blogs? Do you read them at a certain time each day? Is it important to you, as a reader, that your favorite bloggers post every day?
2.  Format:  do you change the format or look of your blog often (or ever)?  As a reader, do you like seeing changes or not?
3. Live or loaded for the future? For you bloggers, do you usually publish a post right after you've written it or do you write one or more to post at a future date?
4. With regard to my blog, I've been blogging a mix of scrapbook pages, cards, photography and altered art.  Is the mix about right for you as a reader or would you prefer something different?
5.  Do you have any interest in doing a collaborative blog project with me, like a blog hop or guest blogging or a swap?  If so, let me know which ones.


Here's the incentive:  the artwork featured today is a card I made using a color copy of one of my all-time favorite collages.  It's called "Wings," and I think of it as a signature piece because features a lot of my signature style.  It's featured everyday on my blog.  On Monday, April 5, 2010, I'll randomly select a name from those who have posted a response to these questions and send them the card.


And don't forget to stop by Thursday for something special and bit different!


Thanks for your input!

An Inspiring Word for 2010?

Ali Edwards, an inspiring and self-titled "life artist" hosts an exercise every year where her blog readers choose an inspiring word for the upcoming year.  She describes the exercise like this, "Essentially the idea is to choose a word (or let it choose you) that has the potential to make an impact on your life. Maybe you want to invite something or maybe you are hoping to subtract something. Maybe your word will be practical or hopeful or creative or fanciful. Maybe you need a big word, something in-your-face that will challenge you everyday. Maybe you need something smaller and quieter that will whisper gentle tidings as you make your way throughout the year."


I have chosen a word for the last few years and found it helpful in both my art and my life.  In 2007, I chose "open" and illustrated the word with a series of ATC's.  In 2008, I chose the word "flow" and took the picture above to illustrate it.  In 2009, I created a plaster piece with my word, "accomplish."  I have started to think about a word for 2010, but haven't settled on one yet.  Have you done this?  What word have you chosen?  Is it something you will do in 2010?  What will be your inspiring word?

What do you plan for it? (a semi-regular series)*

 

Altared State - multimedia art

Sell It!


One of the most satisfying things to do with art is to sell it.  I sold this piece (when it was nicely framed) to someone from Massachusetts who happened to be visiting the area.  This piece was "for sale" and hanging in a show at a local coffee shop.  I have also sold my art at craft shows and (at times) when people have asked directly if things were for sale (this tends to be for sports photography).  Besides photography, my biggest sellers tend to be smaller pieces with reasonable prices. Greeting cards also tend to be big sellers.  Someday I would like to sell larger pieces, and I occasionally think about opening an etsy shop or trying to find some other way to sell online, but I think that's still in my future.  I'd love to hear other people's experiences selling their art.

And I want to say a word about the flip side . . . buying art. I love to buy original art and hang it about my studio.  I find it inspiring, and I love supporting my fellow artists.  I had a wonderful time on Sunday, Dec. 29, at an art fair, buying Christmas gifts and gifts for myself.  Many of my local fellow-artists were there, and it was fantastic to see their wares.  I even received a gift. My art friend Cindy had taken a couple inchies that I made for a swap, and she turned them into wonderful charms (through the magic of soldering).  I love them! Thanks Cindy!  Before that, the last piece of original art I bought was a small shrine by Michael Demeng called "Thicker than Water."  What was the last original art you bought?

*"What do you plan for it" is a semi-regular series inspired when Gennifer asked what I planned for some of my art.  It suggests ideas for what to do with all the wonderful art we create.

The Creative Circle Blog Party Continues!!!

Welcome to the Creative Circle Blog Party - Eight Stops for Creative Adventure (including food)!!!
What could be more fun that that?  Seven friends and I have each developed a creative project to share with you on our blogs.  At the end of each blog, you'll find a link to take you to the next blog stop.  If you get lost, you can return here and find the list of blog participants at the bottom of my post for today.  But it might be more fun to just follow along!  Also, don't forget that once you have visited all eight stops, you can return to my Friday post and leave a comment about your experience to be entered into my weekend give-away.  (I'll actually pull entries from this post and the Friday post to avoid confusion.)

It's Sunday, and I've visited all the blogs. They're terrific.  Sorry there's no Scrapbook Sunday page today because I want to keep the party going and because once I started making Jacky-style cards, I lost all track of time.  I'll post those on Tuesday, along with any other projects I've made.  I'm definitely going to order a bunch of 8x8 photos and make a grid like Gemma suggested.  Plus, I bought buttermilk and pumpkin to make Sharyn's lovely cake!  And I'm thinking hard about Mel's cute little pieces of art, too!  Enjoy my project, and enjoy visiting the other stops in the creative circle.

Here's my project:  Patchwork Collage on Plaster

1.  Start with a 4x4 inch base.  I like to use plaster bandages (sold as rigid-wrap in the United States), but you can use watercolor paper, chipboard or any heavy cardstock.
2.  Tear three or four different scrap pieces of patterned paper into random shapes and adhere to you base.  I like to use gel medium for this, but any good liquid adhesive will work.
3.  Stamp or draw a heart (or other open image) onto your background.  If you're stamping, use a good quality, waterproof ink like Stayz-on.  If you're drawing, a charcoal pencil or a sharpie both work well.  If I'm drawing, I usually go over the image, using a fine paintbrush, with black acrylic paint.
4.  Create a wash of acrylic paints by watering down some of your paint.  Apply the paint to everything on your base, except the image and its interior.  Let dry or dry with a heat gun.
5.  Add other stamped images and/or collage elements.  The dragonfly heart uses a grungbord dragonfly, painted with crackle paint, and stamped images.  The bird king uses a German Scrap bird and a crown from a collage sheet.
6.  Admire your work and then move on to the next stop on our creative adventure:  http://www.scrappyjackylive.blogspot.com/

If you get lost, you can return to my blog and go to any of these creative circle participants:
My blog
http://gallorganico.blogspot.com/
Jacky’s blog
http://www.scrappyjackylive.blogspot.com/
Sian’s blog
http://fromhighinthesky.blogspot.com/
Mel's blog
http://ispeakmelsh.blogspot.com/
Sharyn’s blog
http://sharyncarlson.typepad.com/
Gemma’s blog
http://happybunnydesigns.blogspot.com/
Fiona’s blog
http://www.fionasflotsam.blogspot.com/
Lizzie’s blog
www.lizziemade.blogspot.com


Finally, if you're visiting my blog as part of the Blog Around the World blog party, the picture of my world is in the sidebar. The next gal in that blog trip is the the wonderful Kathy M, who lives about 45 minutes away from me, and who I have known for a long time. Just click here to visit her blog.  After you blog around the world, please come back and join the creative adventure!